by MIKE CASAZZA, DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER , Charleston Daily Mail

"Morgantown is one of the best places to play in the Big East Conference," Kragthorpe said Monday on the Big East coaches' teleconference. "They've got rabid fans and it's always packed. It'll be a lot of fun for the team to get a chance to compete in that environment."

A while later, Kragthorpe had his weekly press conference with the local media and spoke again of Mountaineer Field and the fans, although with this time with a different reverence.

"They all have good arms, whether they're right-handed or left-handed. They throw those batteries extremely well," he said. "They are extremely accurate with those, too. I'm going to have to have a hard hat when I come out of the locker room."

There was sarcasm involved, of course, and Kraghtorpe seemed fond of the way the town celebrated home games.

"It's a 12 o'clock nooner so they won't be quite as tanked as they were when we were there two years ago, but, they get after it, man," he said. "They love football . I mean, they love playing football there and they love coaching football there and they love watching football there. It's a great football place."

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WVU MIGHT might not know who will play quarterback for the Cardinals this week, but it is sure of one thing: It won't be B.J. Daniels.

Daniels, South Florida's redshirt freshman, accounted for more yards (336) than did the Mountaineers (323) in last week's 30-19 defeat of then-No. 20 WVU.

With 232 yards passing and 104 rushing Daniels is only the second opponent to have 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing against the Mountaineers. Temple's Walter Washington passed for 206 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 117 yards and two scores in a 42-21 loss in 2004.

Daniels, Washington (twice), Virginia Tech's Bryan Randall, Kent State's Joshua Cribbs and Boston College's Jay Palazola are the only quarterbacks to pass and rush for at least 100 yards against WVU.

The point? Daniels is a talent and one WVU hasn't seen too often, perhaps as far back as Virginia Tech's Marcus Vick. In 2005, he was 15-for-17 for 177 yards and two touchdowns and added 74 yards and a score on the ground.

"I would say that assessment is correct," WVU Coach Bill Stewart said.

Grudgingly, the Mountaineers admitted part of Daniels' success could be attributed to the fact they just don't see opponents like him very often who can use his legs to keep plays alive and make a big gain on the run or with the pass.

"I saw a young man get hit two or three times and keep going and that's a credit to his strength, ability and agility because our guys had him and didn't get him down," Stewart said.

Stewart said Daniels would be a "thorn in our side the next three years." Cornerbacks coach David Lockwood said Daniels is "a different guy" defenses can't properly anticipate.

"It's just like one of those things when you play a wishbone team or play a team that does something different, like a fast tempo team like Auburn did against us," Lockwood said. "You can tell the kids a million times to their face. You can try to simulate it in practice. You can't simulate actual game speed until you get out there in the game and the kids go through it and see it a few times."

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DESPITE INJURIES to a few players before and during the USF game, only safety Sidney Glover is questionable for Louisville. Stewart said safety Nate Sowers, who was hurt in practice late last week, and nose guard Chris Neild, who hyperextended his back on a short-yardage play, are fine.

"Our serious injuries are very, very minimal," Stewart said. "Sidney's nicked up a little bit, but everyone else seems ready to go even though it was a hard-hitting game and we're sore."

Stewart said linebacker Reed Williams is free to play, as long as he feels he can while being both effective and able to protect himself. An accumulation of toe, foot and shoulder injuries have slowed the senior from Moorefield and Stewart said he'd trust Williams to say when he can and cannot play.

"As long as he can tolerate it, he'll be the judge for when he plays," Stewart said. "He's earned that right. He's special."

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STEWART WILL wait until the end of the week to decide who will handle kickoffs and punts for the Mountaineers. Louisville may have a similar decision.

Ryan Payne missed two kicks against Arkansas State, which looked to be very important when the Cardinals were playing defense in front of their goal line with just a few seconds left in a game they'd win 21-13.

Payne is 8-for-13 on field-goal attempts - he hasn't tried from beyond 42 yards - and 16-for-18 on extra-point attempts. He's also the only barefoot kicker among the 120 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

"As long as it goes through the uprights," said Stewart, who doubles as the team's special teams coach, "I don't care what you're wearing."

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Florida wide receiver Jessie Hester (87) cannot hang on to a second-quarter pass in front of West Virginia safety Sidney Glover (11) during the Bulls' 30-19 win last Friday. Glover is the only Mountaineer player whose status is questionable for Saturday's game against Louisville.

Contact sportswriter Mike Casazza at mikec@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142. His blog is ar blogs.dailymail.com/wvu.

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